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Funds aim to help elderly and disabled

Every year, thousands of people make a nursing home or other institutional environment their place of residency. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that in 2004, 1.5 million people residing in a nursing home with the length of stay averaging 835 days.

For people who don't want to be placed in an institutionalized environment, such statistics can be frightening. These numbers, however, may start to decline since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced a $2.25 billion grant to help keep people living in their own homes.

The funds are designed to encourage the remaining 21 states to join the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement, "The Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration has been critical to our efforts to deliver on the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act and expand access to community living services."

The goals of the MFP Reblancing Demonstration include reducing the number of people residing in institutions and increasing the flexible use of Medicaid. Individual states will receive funds for every elderly and mentally or physically disabled person that gets transitioned into a private or group setting.